Introducing the 2022 FAITH Scholars

Alexander Kasolas (Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley) Along with founding and leading his high school's Engineering Club, Alexander was admitted into the Space Enterprise at Berkeley (SEB), a student rocketry team dedicated to achieving spaceflight and developing rocket technologies. Last month he went to the California Mojave Desert where he and his team launched liquid-fuel test rockets in 118-degree temperatures. Now at Berkeley, Alexander has started his fellowship with Redwire Space, a start-up in the NewSpace industry which explores economic and technological feasibilities for 3D-printing in-space manufacturing structures.

Yanni Kouloumbis (Computer Science, Cornell University) During the height of the pandemic, Yanni programmed custom software for a built-in live-streaming system for his parish. It was a success and he went on to outfit parishes across his community with systems. The project took over a thousand hours and many volunteers and he was awarded an Eagle Scout for his efforts. Along with software engineering internships and participation in school coding competitions, Yanni received a $10,000 grant for “Polyglot,” an app he developed that translates digital content into over ten languages, and also founded OpenSourceDegree which hosts free courses from top universities. 

(Yanni is pictured second from left)

Rafaella Lambrinos (Sociology, University of Pennsylvania) founded the “Adopt a Yiayia and Pappou” program early in the pandemic. She paired youth with senior citizens in her parish for weekly check-ins and chats with the goal to ease loneliness during the lockdowns. The program was such a success that it expanded from her hometown in Freehold, NJ to the entire state and beyond. In addition, Rafaella was the GOYA president and National Honor Society vice president and received her school district's “Caring Award” for demonstrating exceptional dedication to a cause.

Adamantia Metaxas (Biology, Princeton University) was neuroscience club president, track team captain and Regeneron Science Talent Search finalist. As part of her school’s specialized Science Research Program, she sought funding and developed a project studying the effect of zinc and copper dysregulation on Alzheimer's Disease development, submitting her preliminary finds to Frontier Magazine and various student research summits and symposiums. Passionate about sharing her love of science, she spent last summer working with the Princeton Children's Fund Mission to Mars - providing STEM focused programming to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Lea Mitchell (Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts) As co-president of GOYA, Lea worked with the youth leadership team to develop new activities to connect and inspire her peers to get involved. She spearheaded initiatives such as a virtual cooking class sharing Greek culinary cuisine and “Rise Against Hunger" where she and her team helped package 10,000 meals to benefit those in developing countries. A high honor roll student, class representative and world champion baton twirler, Lea mentored freshmen and helped organize a winter wonderland festival event for kids in her community with special needs.

Christos Skoundridakis (Computer Science, University of Florida) Christos served as class president his freshman, sophomore and senior years and vice president his junior year. While advocating for student wellness and academic support, he mentored underclassmen in his student leadership class. Along with representing his school's delegation at the state's Student Government Association Conference, he competed on the Parliamentary Procedure team and was a Climate READY Ambassador. As president of the National Honor Society, Christos organized initiatives to benefit the school and Boca Raton community at large including programs such as with Florida Dental Sleep Disorders and Sleep Out America (shelters for teens).